Romance at work will get you Fired!

Ah, my dear Mr. Phillips, which head were you thinking with? I’ll assume it’s the same one that you used when you framed the New York Mets’ 2002 roster. There isn’t a Mets fan out there who has wholeheartedly enjoyed Phillips’ self-tooting and Met-bashing tenure at ESPN. And there are just as many who have been waiting for a moment such as this, where they can share in a feeling of some sort of restitution for the mess that the former GM left behind in NY. The marriage between Phillips and ESPN has come to a close. That’s the second marriage that Phillips will lose due to this incident – his wife filed for divorce back in September. Not many people can relate to baseball. But many of us can indeed relate to the story.

Steve Phillips fired from ESPN

Steve Phillips, a former MLB General Manager, and ESPN analyst (Sports Center, Baseball Tonight, ESPN Baseball) has been fired by the network after a revelation of a romantic affair with a 22-year-old production assistant, Brooke Hundley. Following a one-week suspension after Phillips admitted to the affair, ESPN (which is owned by Disney – a family network) decided to fire Phillips for his antics and the negative attention he has brought to the sports network giant. In a released statement, ESPN said, “Steve Phillips is no longer working for ESPN. His ability to be an effective representative for ESPN has been significantly and irreparably damaged, and it became evident it was time to part ways.” This comes after the news of Phillips and Hundley’s affair gathered nationwide attention last week. It seems that Phillips wanted to break off the relationship, a move to which Hundley took offense and chose to contact and ridicule Phillips’ family.

Perhaps this was the ghost of Todd Hundley (no relation) paying vengeance for his NY ousting? Or just a case of bad luck? Or may be Ms. Hundley figured that schlepping a big wig at work will make her move through the ranks faster. Or was she thinking of extortion and Phillips mistakenly called her bluff? She probably liked him for his good looks, charm, and body. Fatal attraction? Ha!

Some of  you are reading this and thinking, “Will people ever learn?” And there’s so much that can be meant by that phrase. What I’m concerned with most is, “Will people ever learn to separate work and play?” Well, I checked my magic eight ball, and my sources say, “NO!” According to a Harris Interactive poll sponsored by Atlanta-based employment firm Randstad, over 40 percent of employees reported having some kind of romantic involvement in their workplace. And even worse, it’s not just sexual. According to the study, 53 percent of the women and 42 percent of men surveyed have established workplace emotional relationships for support from the opposite sex. That’s a staggering number, isn’t it? Look around your workplace – pick two random people; chances are, at least one of them has a story to share. But let’s agree, the way you live your life is your own business. What you do at home, whom you sleep with, whom you cheat with, why you break other commandments, married, engaged, rich, poor – all your own business and not for anyone to opine or ridicule. But when you mix your personal life with employment, the barrier that keeps the two separate disappears. You let your coworkers and your superiors in on the intricate details of your personal life that you would normally want to keep to yourself. Why go down that road? Why risk so much when you have so little to gain? There’s nothing worse than being embarrassed. There’s nothing worse than being embarrassed at work. Phillips obviously didn’t get fired because of his lack of baseball knowledge or analytical technique, yet if it were me, I’d fire him just the same. This shows poor character. This shows poor decision making. Why not keep your life sane and progress as a professional instead of digging holes in the road ahead? I don’t get it, really. Did he hate his job? If I enjoy what I do, I’m keeping my work environment squeaky clean to prevent an embarrassing situation that forces my firing. But most of us don’t. WHY?